DURHAM, N.C.—The Duke University wrestling team’s dual season opens this weekend in exciting fashion as the Blue Devils travel to the state of Indiana to take on No. 21 Purdue, Indiana and Cleveland State. Duke’s matches against Purdue and Indiana both will be broadcast online by the Big Ten Digital Network.

Duke kicks off the weekend in West Lafayette, Ind. against the 21st-ranked Boilermakers at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils are travel to Bloomington the next day for a matchup with the Hoosiers and 11 a.m. and the Vikings of Cleveland State at 1 p.m. The Indiana dual will be broadcast on Big Ten Digital Network on HoosiersTV.

The Blue Devils are coming off of a strong showing at the Hokie Open. Duke came away with a pair of titles at 184 and 197 pounds and second-place finishes at 133 and 165. Overall, Duke had 10 wrestlers place among the top six and eight in the top four.

Redshirt sophomore Conner Hartmann headlines the Duke lineup at 197 pounds after taking home his second Hokie Open title. Ranked 19th in the latest Amateur Wrestling News, Hartmann looks to remain unbeaten and pick up a trio of victories this weekend. He will face his toughest test Saturday against 16th-ranked and two-time NCAA qualifier Braden Atwood of Purdue.

True freshman Jacob Kasper will get his first taste of a collegiate dual meet at 184 pounds. Kasper captured the Hokie Open title this past weekend, pinning his foe in the title bout in only 1:24. At 133 pounds, redshirt junior Brandon Gambucci will look to build on his runner-up performance at the Hokie Open. Gambucci finished 12-4 in duals last season and is 18-8 overall for his career.

Joining Kasper as true freshmen in the starting lineup are Connor Bass at 149 and Xaviel Ramos at 141 pounds. Evan Botwin (125) will hit the mat for the first time in a Duke singlet as a redshirt freshman. Bass took third at the Hokie Open last weekend and Ramos posted a 3-2 mark in his career-opening tournament.

Moving up a couple of weight this year is redshirt junior Marcus Cain to 165. The Winston-Salem, N.C., native competed at 149 last season and is coming off of a third-place showing at the Hokie Open. Brian Self makes the move up to heavyweight for his senior campaign after having to wrestle up the last half of the 2013 season due to injuries on the squad. He most recently took fourth at heavyweight at the Hokie Open.

Rounding out Duke’s lineup are team captain Immanuel Kerr-Brown at 157 and Trey Adamson at 174. Adamson is coming off of a third-place showing last week, while Kerr-Brown took sixth.

All three opponents will be great tests for the Blue Devils. Purdue, ranked 21st as a team, features a pair of ranked wrestlers at 125 and 197, while Indiana has three ranked wrestlers at 157, 165 and 285. The Boilermakers are led by Atwood at 197 and registered five placewinners at the Michigan State Open a week ago.

Taylor Walsh headlines the Hoosiers’ lineup at No. 8, while Adam Chalfant will take on Self at heavyweight with a No. 10 ranking. Indiana had two wrestlers crowned at the Michigan State Open with Walsh and Chalfant taking home titles. Overall, the Hoosiers had four finalists in the event.

Cleveland State begins the year with a deep roster after a sixth-place showing at the EWL Tournament a year ago. Nick Corba (174) and Daniel King (125) lead the way after strong performances at the Binghamton Open to start the year. Meanwhile, Riley Shaw returns as a NCAA qualifier a year ago at heavyweight.